


Doki Doki Literature Stomp!

by RegularMagicalUnicorn



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel), Doki Doki Love Stomp, supergreatfriend
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-05 02:30:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20481392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RegularMagicalUnicorn/pseuds/RegularMagicalUnicorn
Summary: What will it take just to find that special day?





	Doki Doki Literature Stomp!

Hulku-chan checked the number on the classroom door with the number she had written down. Yep, this was definitely the right room number. It was weird though - why would the Wrestling Club be meeting in a normal classroom? She chalked it up to incompetent administration and pushed the door open.

The first thing she saw inside was a huge, hulking figure. His shirt introduced him as Bully Demise, and also didn’t smell very good. Hulku didn’t know Bully very well - he was a man of few words - but simply by virtue of being the largest student in school, she knew he would make an excellent president for the Wrestling Club. Beside him was a girl whose gray outfit matched her oddly gray complexion. This was Felicia, a friend of Hulku’s for several years. The two had bonded over their mutual love of wrestling. Felicia wasn’t a wrestler herself, though; she was a commentator. Finally, the last club member was Heavenly Bobby - a perpetually shirtless jock with an attitude. He was annoying, but the club needed at least four members to have a club. If nothing else, he was definitely passionate about wrestling.

Strangely, though, the Wrestling Club members weren’t the only people in the room. On the other side were four girls that Hulku didn’t recognize - wait, actually, was that Monika? Hulku knew of her vaguely - Monika was super popular around the school, and she seemed to be in every club - but since when was she interested in wrestling? The other girls seemed just as confused as Hulku was. They were whispering between themselves, though Hulku couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“Hey, Bully,” Hulku whispered, “do you know what they’re doing here?” She pointed.

“I donno, Hank,” Bully replied, extremely loudly. This instantly shut down all conversation in the room, and drew the attention of the other girls. Waves of awkwardness flooded the room as they stared at each other. Finally, Hulku decided to break the silence. She approached the center of the room.

“Um, hi,” she started. “Are you here for the Wrestling Club?”

“Ahaha, no,” Monika laughed. “This is the Literature Club. There must have been some sort of mistake.”

“I’m pretty sure this is the room we were assigned to,” Hulku said. She pulled out the official paperwork with the room number. Monika pulled out her own and checked - they were the same number.

“That… can’t be right.” Monika kept glancing between the two papers, but the numbers refused to change.

“Well, if we’re gonna be sharing the room, you might as well introduce us!” One of the other girls in the Literature Club stepped up. She added an awkward giggle, “Ehehe.”

“Oh, okay, uh,” Hulku started. She grabbed Bully’s arm and pulled him forward. Though she wasn’t actually able to move him herself, he stepped forward anyway.

“This is our club president, Bully Demise. He’s a real... man of mystery.”

Hulku paused for Bully to wave or something. Bully steadfastly did not react at all. After a slightly too long pause, she continued.

“I’m Hulku-chan, club Vice-President and Hulk Hogan’s number one fan!” She struck a pose. “Gonna lay the smackdown on you, brother!” The other club’s members just seemed confused, Monika especially.

“Er, moving on then, this is Felica.”

Felicia smiled warmly and waved across the room.

“She’s a good friend of mine,” Hulku continued, “and is the best commentator I’ve ever heard!”

Felicia put her hands up. “Hey, don’t oversell me or anything!” she joked.

Hulku giggled. “And finally, that’s Heavenly Bobby.”

Bobby waited a moment, then spoke up. “What, you’re not gonna say anything about me?” He flexed his arms and winked. “Ladies, I am available at the moment.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a weird way.

Hulku sighed. “He’s… actually not a bad wrestler. His personality though… well, we did need a fourth member, after all.” With their introductions out of the way, it was time for the others to take their turn. “So, who are you?”

The girl who spoke before bounced up. “I’m sure you know Monika already - she’s only the most popular girl in school, she’s in just about every club, and she’s super smart too!”

“Ahaha, Sayori, you’re too kind.” The confusion that had been plastered across Monika’s face instantly vanished as she began talking. “It’s true that I’ve joined several clubs but, they all got too big and started to lose their appeal. That’s why I decided to start the Literature Club - just a small group of friends enjoying literature together.”

“I know what you mean,” Hulku said. Why did she say that? She hadn’t really joined many clubs, certainly not as many as Monika had.

“I’m Sayori, the Vice-President,” Sayori continued. She indicated the short, pink haired girl behind her. “This is Natsuki. She makes the best cupcakes in the entire world!”

“Hey! I can do a lot more than that, you know,” Natsuki jeered. “Besides, it’s not like I’d make cupcakes for any of them anyway. We don’t even know each other!”

“Right! That’s why we’re doing these introductions!” Bubbly attitude apparently not deterred, Sayori went on to point at the tall, purple haired girl who was standing uncomfortably in the back corner. “And this is Yuri! She’s super smart too!”

Yuri waved weakly.

“And that’s the Literature Club! Ehehe.”

Monika stepped forward. “Thank you, Sayori. As the club President, I guess I should welcome you all.” She extended a hand in Bully’s direction.

Bully shrugged. “Ok.”

Monika seemed taken aback. She left her hand in the air for a moment, before dropping it back to her side. She headed for Hulku instead, but Sayori got there first.

“I’m so excited to be sharing a room with your club! You seem like a lot of fun!”

Sayori’s positive energy radiated into Hulku as well as they shared a handshake. “So do you!” Hulku said. “Maybe I’ll come over and see what you’re up to sometimes.” Again, why did she say that? She was a wrestler, not a writer.

“Okay, everyone,” Monika announced. “Literature Club, let’s get our first meeting under way!” The Literature Club moved to the front of the room and began discussing things amongst themselves. Hulku led the Wrestling Club to the other side of the room, and set up some mats and things to start practicing. Because of the introductions, they didn’t have a ton of time left, so Hulku wanted to make the most of it. However, the whole time she was practicing, she kept getting the feeling that someone was watching her.

After the clubs ended, everyone said their goodbyes and Hulku and Felicia packed up to head to their homes. They lived close by, so they almost always walked together. Once they were out of the school and onto the street, Hulku spoke up.

“Felicia, did you get any… weird vibes today?”

Felicia laughed. “Just that the school administration is incompetent. Why do you ask?”

“I donno, I just had this feeling that something was up. It’s probably nothing.”

“Don’t tell me that other club’s making you nervous! I know you, you could pin any of them with one arm tied behind your back!” Felicia began making up the names of potential one-handed wrestling moves Hulku could use in her hypothetical fight.

Hulku smiled. “You’re right, Felicia. See you tomorrow!”

“See ya.” They split off to go to their own houses. Hulku quickly blasted through her homework for the day, and spent the rest of the night watching old wrestling tapes, planning the moves she wanted to practice tomorrow.

\----

The school day crawled by. Every minute felt like an eternity; Hulku couldn’t wait to get back to the Wrestling Club. Finally, the last class period ended. Hulku bolted from the classroom and sprinted to the clubroom, ready to get things set up for the day. She opened the door and was surprised to find that she wasn’t the first one there.

“Oh, you’re still here?” Monika asked. Her tone was… unexpectedly threatening? No, maybe Hulku was imagining it.

“What do you mean?” Hulku flashed a smile. “I wanted to get here early to set up!”

“No, I mean, I put in a request with administration,” Monika explained. The threatening edge was gone, if it had been there at all in the first place. “I asked if they would give us different rooms. They usually respond to me pretty quickly.”

Hulku laughed. “They never respond to anything quickly! I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Monika nodded. “I guess you’re right.”

Slowly, the other club members trickled into the room. Natsuki was one of the last to arrive and headed straight to the closet in the back of the room.

“Hey!” Natsuki seemed displeased by the situation in the closet. “Who moved all my manga to the top shelf?”

Yuri spoke up. “I was just trying to help organize it for you.”

“Well, now come help me get it down.”

“Actually,” Yuri suggested, “maybe you’d be interested in reading some real literature today.” She reached for her bag, unaware of what she had just done.

It was like a bomb had gone off. Everyone in the room immediately went silent, as if prompted by the waves of pure rage emanating from Natsuki. Hulku glanced nervously between Natsuki and Yuri. She unconsciously slid behind Bully, trying to hide from whatever was about to go down.

“What did you just say?” Natsuki tried to growl, but it came out more cute than threatening.

“Surely you can’t just read mangas, Natsuki.” Apparently, Yuri was immune to the silencing effect. She pulled a book out of her bag and showed it off. “I thought you might want to-”

“Of course I can!” Natsuki shouted. “These mangas are way better than any of your crummy stories! And besides, you don’t need to have memorized 5 dictionaries to understand them!”

Yuri huffed. “Well, maybe some of us can visualize a story without needing cartoon drawings.”

Natsuki, somehow, became even angrier. Hulku slid even closer to Bully for protection. He didn’t seem to notice.

“This is why you don’t have any friends, you edgy bitch!” Natsuki was pulling no punches.

“You aren’t exactly Miss Popular yourself, now are you?” Yuri fired back.

“Girls, girl, please calm down.” Monika finally tried to intervene.

“I’m sure we can work this out!” Sayori added. Her voice alone somehow drastically reduced the amount of anger in the air. 

Natsuki and Yuri glared at their clubmates unconvinced, however, they did stop shouting at each other. Even Hulku moved out of her hiding spot slightly.

“We can have a vote!” Sayori suggested. “Manga has words in it, so I think it should count! What do you think, Monika?”

Yuri looked like she wanted to say something, but Monika started talking before the situation could re-escalate.

“An important part of literature for me is conveying images, and scenes, and emotions through words alone.” She closed her eyes. “They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but I’ve found that finding the right word is even more valuable.” She opened her eyes again. “I’m going to have to vote no.”

“Alright, we’ve got a tie!” Sayori said happily. “Guess we need to ask our friends for their help!” She turned to the Wrestling Club.

“Wait, do you mean us?” Hulku asked after a moment.

“Of course!” Sayori smiled. “What do you think?”

Heavenly Bobby chimed in first. “I don’t really care, but I’m gonna agree with Tall Purple over there.” He winked at Yuri, who was too busy being angry with Natsuki to get angry with him as well.

“I think you’ve made a good point, Sayori,” Felicia countered. “I’m no expert, but I’d think anything with words would count. What do you think, Bully?”

Bully shrugged.

“Looks like it’s up to you then, Hulku,” Felicia said.

Of course it was. This was exactly what Hulku was hoping wouldn’t happen. She barely knew any of the other club’s members, and didn’t want to draw anger from any of them, especially this early in the semester. And besides, it’s not like she cared much about literature anyway. Then again, Monika did say she had filed an application, so maybe they wouldn’t be seeing each other much more after this, and it wouldn’t matter too much. Hulku glanced around the room - all eyes were on her, except for Bully, who seemed lost in thought. Felicia in particular was urging her to go on.

“I think that…”

**>Manga is literature**

“I think Natsuki’s right,” Hulku said. “Manga is just as much a type of literature as any other form of writing. Having pictures isn’t a weakness, it’s a strength. They get people interested who wouldn’t be otherwise, and act as just another way for the author to convey things.”

Natsuki pumped a fist in the air. “I win! Now, help me get these down.”

“Of… of course.” Yuri seemed to have shrunk back down into a nervous mess. She crossed the room towards the closet.

( end option )

**>Manga is not literature**

“I think Yuri’s right,” Hulku said. “Literature has a certain art to it. Having to convey your ideas through text alone has certain limitations, but there’s an amount of power to being able to work within those limitations and still produce something great.”

The room went silent. Yuri smiled proudly, while most of the energy visibly drained out of Natsuki.

“Well, you win,” Natsuki said finally. “I still need you to get the manga down, though.”

“Even after all this, you’re not going to try-” Yuri started, but Natsuki interrupted.

“Just… leave me alone, ok?”

“Alright.” Yuri dropped her smile and headed towards the closet.

(end option)

“Wow, Hulku,” Monika said, “I didn’t know you were interested in literature. Where did that come from?”

“Yeah, that was amazing!” Felicia added.

Hulku laughed. “I don’t know where that came from! I’m not really very interested in literature usually.” Indeed, the only things she had read recently were the descriptions on the wrestling-themed trading cards she collected. “But, thank you!”

“In that case, maybe you’d like to spend some time with our club, and see if you’re more interested than you think,” Monika offered.

Before Hulku could accept or reject the offer, Heavenly Bobby added his own two cents. “No way! Hulku and I were gonna have a practice match today, and you’ve already delayed it long enough as it is!”

“I didn’t know you were so excited for that,” Hulku said.

“Better than wrestling this big lug, that’s for sure.” Bobby flicked his thumb at Bully, who was still not really paying attention. “You can only get stomped on so many times before it stops being good practice.”

“Oh. Alright, then.” Monika returned her attention to her own club. They did their usual thing while Hulku and Bobby set up for, and had their practice match. Felicia provided commentary for the whole thing. The way she did her match commentary was just so full of energy, and seeing her having such a good time - it made Hulku happy, too. Soon, though, the club time drew to a close. Hulku and Felicia headed home together again.

“Wow, Hulku, you were great!” Felicia was still excited from the match. “When you got Bobby in an airplane spin - that was crazy! How did you even do that?”

“I’ve been practicing a lot lately,” Hulku said, before changing topics. “Hey Felicia, what do you think of the Literature Club members?”

“Oh, huh? They seem fine enough.” Felicia shrugged. “Today got a little heated, but I’m sure they’ll calm down.”

“You’re probably right.”

“I always am!” Felicia smiled and gave a thumbs up. They both laughed, then exchanged “See you tomorrow!”s and parted ways.

Alone, though, Hulku couldn’t stop wondering about the things she had said today. She had never cared about literature at all before - where did she get such strong feelings about it from? Something was definitely going on.

\----

Another day, another impossibly boring set of classes to sit through. Somehow, Hulku survived and made her way to the clubroom. Bully and Felicia were already there. Bully was practicing moves, and Felicia was calling out their names as he did them. Unfortunately, the only move he knew was the Stomp, so Felicia seemed pretty bored already. On the other side of the room, Sayori and Natsuki were talking about something while waiting for the others to arrive.

Yuri poked her head into the room, but shrunk back a bit when she saw Natsuki. Still, she stood herself back up and came in.

“Natsuki, I... “ she trailed off, then started over. “I would like to apologize for what happened yesterday.”

Natsuki grunted in a non-committal way. Yuri approached slowly. Before the scene could continue, Heavenly Bobby burst in and ruined the moment.

“Ladies.” He winked at the others and flexed. No one was impressed.

“Bobby, cut that out!” Hulku decided it was time to say something. “You’re clearly making them uncomfortable.”

“Relax Hulku, there’s enough Bobby to go around.”

“As if Hulku would ever go for someone like you!” Felicia laughed.

Bobby turned and glared at Felicia. “Now, just what is that supposed to mean?”

Hulku was worried she was about to have to break up a fight. Luckily, Monika entered the room just then, and all attention turned to her instead. Monika glanced between her club and the wrestlers, then back to her club, then back to the wrestlers. Hulku got a strange feeling like Monika was singling her out specifically, but no, surely she was just looking at the club as a whole.

“Why am I the only one who thinks this is weird?” Monika asked, finally.

“What do you mean?” Sayori looked confused.

“I mean, who would decide to combine the Wrestling Club and the Literature Club? Those aren’t even similar!” Monika explained. “Why is there a room in this school that can support a Wrestling Club and a Literature Club at the same time? And most importantly, why are you all just going along with it like this is all normal?”

Bully shrugged. Everyone else sort of murmured between themselves for a bit, while Monika stood in the midst of it all, like an island.

“Was she right?” Hulku thought. Now that Monika had pointed it out, the circumstances did seem more than a little strange. Plus - not that she had told anyone else about it - there was that weird feeling Hulku kept getting whenever she said something she didn’t expect to. Something was definitely up, but-

“You may be right, Monika,” Sayori spoke up, derailing Hulku’s train of thought. “But, I think this is just a chance for us to get to make some more new friends!”

Sayori’s positive attitude was infectious, and Hulku found herself agreeing. “Sayori’s right. No matter how unusual things might be around here, we should make the best of it!” Hulku turned to her club members. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah, whatever.” This was probably the best result she could get from Bobby.

Bully shrugged. “Ok.”

“Of course, Hulku!” Felicia added, excitedly. Hulku smiled - she could always count on Felicia to back her up.

“I donno.” Monika was still unconvinced. “How are we supposed to make friends if we barely interact with each other?”

“Well of course you’re always welcome to, uh…,” Hulku stumbled over her words. She didn’t usually have this problem, but the thrill of introducing someone to the world of wrestling was just too much. She took a breath and tried again. “You’re always welcome to come hang out with us if you want to.”

Monika smiled. “Same to you, Hulku.”

Classic Monika. Nothing ever phased her - you could dangle her off the side of a building and she’d still speak perfectly. Wait, actually, why did she single out Hulku?

“Thanks, Monika. We might do that. But now, it’s practice time!”

Hulku and Bobby began practicing various moves while Bully ran in place, as usual. Monika got the Literature Club started on their activity for the day, then sidled over towards the Wrestling Club once she got the chance.

“So, Hulku…” Monika started. Hulku jumped a little; she had been so focused that she hadn’t noticed Monika approach.

“Ahaha, did I startle you?”

“No,” Hulku said. “What’s up?"

“I just wanted to try to get to know you better, like we said earlier! So, what got you into wrestling?”

“Oh, that’s easy! My parents have been Hulkamaniacs since before I was born! So I guess it’s just natural that I picked it up too.”

Monika frowned. “Hulka-whats?”

That snapped Hulku out of her practice routine. “You know, like Hulk Hogan?” She posed. “Brother!”

Monika didn’t seem to be any less confused. “Didn’t he-”

“Monika, the tea’s ready!” Natsuki shouted from across the room.

“Natsuki, could you not see she was busy?” Yuri looked nervous. “Monika probably doesn’t even want any tea.”

“Just a second, Hulku.” Monika returned to her club members. “Thank you, Yuri.”

Hulku returned to her practicing. She could hear Monika attempting to convince Yuri that yes, she did want the tea, and no, she wasn’t annoyed. Eventually though, Monika made it back to the wrestling side of the room.

“So, Hulk Hogan, huh?” Monika started the conversation again.

“Yeah, he’s only like, the best wrestler ever!” Hulku continued to jab and kick at the air. “My parents and I actually own and operate the last Pastamania in the country!”

“You’re really devoted to this whole thing, aren’t you?”

“Of course!”

Monika was silent. A strange look played over her face - concern, maybe? Hulku got the impression that Monika wanted to say something, but didn’t know how to say it.

Finally, she spoke. “Isn’t he kind of a bad role model?”

This one snapped Hulku out of her routine so hard that she just left her fist dangling in the air. “What? What do you mean?”

“Well, didn’t he-”

“Monika, it’s time to share poems!” Sayori called out happily.

“Hulku, I’m sorry, I have to get back to this,” Monika said, heading back to her club.

“But- but you-,” Hulku stammered out. How could Monika drop a bombshell like that, and then just leave? With nothing else to go on, she figured the best she could do was finish up practice for today. Hulku stayed behind to clean up the room, but strangely, Monika never came back to finish their conversation. Apparently, she had left with the rest of the Literature Club. Once the room was cleaned up, Hulku left with Felicia.

“Felicia, what do you think of Hulk Hogan?” Hulku asked.

“I think you’re a big fan of him, am I right?” Felicia laughed. “Why’d you ask?”

“Monika said something today about him being a bad role model, but she never explained why. Do you know what that was about?”

“Well, he can’t be all bad if he’s inspired someone like you, right?”

Hulku smiled. “Thanks, Felicia. But seriously, has he done something bad?”

“Hey, you’re the expert, not me! I’m sure you’d be the first to know.”

“You’re right, Felicia.” They reached the point where their paths split. “See you tomorrow?”

“As always!” Felicia headed off, and Hulku returned to her house.

\----

Hulku sat through another uneventful day. Finally, the last bell rang and Hulku headed for the clubroom. She pushed open the door, to find that everyone was already there - Bully was running in place, Felicia was trying (and failing) to start a conversation with him, and Bobby was - oh, no.

Bobby was distressingly close to the Literature Club members. He seemed to be hitting on Natsuki. While the other members looked various degrees of uncomfortable, Natsuki just seemed annoyed.

“So what do you say, Short Pink? How about we bounce from here and go somewhere more interesting?”

“Not interested.” Natsuki didn’t even look up from the manga she was trying to read.

“Come on! I’m a pretty great guy when you get to know me!”

Natsuki turned the page without a word.

“Fine, then.” Bobby continued past Natsuki toward the next person he laid eyes on, who happened to be Yuri. 

Yuri, trembling, backed herself into the corner as Bobby advanced. He either didn’t get the hint, or more likely, just didn’t care.

“So, how about you, gorgeous?”

Yuri tried to say something, but no words came out. Luckily, she didn’t have to. Natsuki set down her manga and, faster than seemed humanly possible, flew across the room and tackled Bobby, bringing them both to the ground.

“Don’t you DARE talk like that to her, you sleazeball!” Natsuki shouted, holding Bobby to the floor and punching at him.

“Oh, is this how we’re doing things then?” Bobby laughed. “Cute.”

Almost effortlessly, Bobby rolled the two of them over, so he was on top. Natsuki continued flailing and kicking at him - in fact, her efforts became even more frantic now - but she was unable to escape his grip.

Hulku was frozen with fear while watching this whole scene unfold. Of course Bobby was going to win the fight - he was a trained wrestler, after all. Someone needed to stop this right now, but Hulku wasn’t sure how to do it. She looked around. 

Sayori, Yuri, and Felicia were both watching the scene with the same abject horror as Hulku. Monika was staring intently at Hulku herself, possibly also hoping for someone else to save the day. Finally, Bully, who had been still running in place, lumbered forward. He grabbed the fighters by their heads, one in each hand, and T-posed, separating the two. Natsuki continued to flail at the air for a while until she realized what had happened.

“Bobby!” Hulku shouted. “You’re out of the club!”

“You can’t kick me out. You’d be below the 4 person minimum,” Bobby explained, still dangling from Bully’s hand. He was right, which just made Hulku even angrier.

“We can find someone else!”

“Not in time for the festival, you can’t!” Bobby laughed.

Oh, right, the festival. It was only a couple days away, and she hadn’t even thought about what the Wrestling Club might do for it.

“Alright,” Hulku groaned. “But, if you do anything like that again, you’re gone. Get it?”

“You got it, Hulku.” Bobby tried to break free of Bully’s grasp, but was unable.

“Uh, Bully, you can let them down now.”

“Ok.” Bully immediately released Bobby, dropping him to the floor. Bobby of course stuck the landing no problem. Bully then carefully lowered his other arm so that Natsuki was standing on the floor before letting her go as well.

“Natsuki, are you alright?” Yuri asked.

“Oh, uh, of course!” Natsuki flashed a smile. “He was just getting on my nerves.” Her tone was that of someone who had just won a fight, not someone who had had to be rescued.

“I’m really sorry about that. It won’t happen again,” Hulku promised.

They split, and Hulku practiced like normal, but her heart wasn’t in it. If Bobby was going to pull something like that, then who knew what else he might do? And worst of all - Hulku had been totally useless the entire time.

Eventually the day wrapped up and Hulku and Felicia headed out. Felicia almost immediately picked up on the fact that Hulku was feeling down.

“Hulku, what’s up?”

“It’s just…,” Hulku tried to explain. “That whole scene with Bobby earlier.”

“So, Bobby’s a jerk. That’s not your fault, Hulku.” Felicia gave a sympathetic smile.

“I know, but…,” Hulku looked around anxiously, “I just stood there. I should’ve done more. I could’ve taken him, I’ve wrestled Bobby before!”

“Yeah, in the ring. The ring has rules. Who knows what Bobby coulda done outside of it? Besides, Bully took care of it. That’s why he’s the club president, right?”

“Yeah, but…”

“But nothing!” Felicia looked away. “Hulku, I don’t want to see you get hurt!” Her voice was cracking a little. “Be careful, okay?”

“Felicia, are you…?” Hulku reached out a hand.

“I’m fine, okay see you.” Felicia, still looking away, took off for her own house. Hulku stood with her hand out for a moment, processing what had happened.

“Alright, see you tomorrow,” Hulku called out, though she didn’t really expect Felicia to hear it. Finally, Hulku made it back to her own house, eager to put this day behind her.

\----

The next day, Hulku didn’t see Felicia for the entire day. They usually had lunch together on the roof of the school, but she was nowhere to be found. Finally, though, Hulku made it to the Wrestling Club.

Bully was running in place like always, and Bobby wasn’t there yet. Surprisingly, Felicia was there.

“Felicia?” Hulku asked, surprised.

“Oh, hey Hulku.” Felicia waved from across the room. She seemed… not at all the same as she had yesterday.

“Felicia? Are you feeling alright?” Hulku walked over.

“Uh, yeah? Should I not be?” Felicia seemed confused.

Well, this was weird. Maybe she was just trying to play it cool, or something? Hulku didn’t want to press too much.

Conveniently, Bobby burst into the room, giving Hulku a good excuse to not continue that conversation.

“Alright, Wrestling Club,” Hulku stepped up to make an announcement. “The school festival is on Monday, so we need to prepare something to do. Any ideas?”

Bully raised his hand. Hulku pointed at him. He didn’t say anything.

“Bully?” Hulku asked.

“We should wrestle.”

“That’s a… great idea!”

“I can provide commentary!” Felicia volunteered.

“This is easier than I thought!” Hulku said. “Now, we just need to decide who’s wrestling who!”

**>Hulku will wrestle Bully**

“Alright,” Hulku decided. I’m gonna wrestle with Bully.”

Bobby jumped up angrily.

**“No. I want to wrestle Demise.”**

He plopped back into his seat in a sort of awkward, robotic manner.

(choose another option)

**>Hulku will wrestle Bobby**

“Alright,” Hulku decided. I’m gonna wrestle with Bobby.”

Bobby jumped up angrily.

**“No. I want to wrestle Demise.”**

He plopped back into his seat in a sort of awkward, robotic manner.

(choose another option)

**>Bully and Bobby will wrestle; Hulku will help Felicia commentate**

“Alright, Bobby and Bully will wrestle, and Felicia and I will provide commentary.” 

Felicia stood up.

**“No. I do not need any help.”**

She sat back down.

(choose another option)

**>Maybe the Literature Club needs help?**

“Alright, Bobby and Bully will wrestle, and Felicia will commentate. I’m going to go see if the Literature Club needs any help.” Hulku’s voice slowly became less confident as she spoke. This didn’t really seem like something she would say. Why was she saying it, then?

“Are you sure, Hulku?” Felicia seemed just as confused.

“Yeah, I think you guys have everything under control.”

“Alright, if you say so.”

Hulku made her way across the room. Monika was handing out duties to the other members of the Literature Club.

“So, uh,” Hulku started. “Preparing for the festival, huh?”

Monika stopped handing out tasks and turned to face Hulku. “Yep! It is on Monday after all. I guess we maybe should have started preparing sooner, ahaha.”

Sayori hopped up, excited. “Monika and I are making pamphlets for the club! Yuri’s gonna design banners and stuff, cause she has the prettiest handwriting, and Natsuki’s gonna make the best cupcakes in the world!”

“Oh.” Hulku paused. “Do you need any help with any of that?”

“Don’t you need to help the Wrestling Club with whatever you’re doing?” Monika asked.

“They… seem to have it under control.”

“Well, if you’re sure. Who would you like to help?” Monika smiled warmly.

**>Monika**

“I think I’d like to help Monika,” Hulku decided.

“But Monika’s already got Sayori helping her,” Natsuki said. “How much help can she need?”

“Certainly, it would be more beneficial for Hulku to assist someone else,” Yuri agreed. “If- if she doesn’t mind, of course.”

“But, she wanted to help me,” Monika said. “She offered to help, we can’t just refuse her.”

“Nuh-uh,” Natsuki disagreed. “Hulku, Yuri and I could use your help a lot more.”

(choose another option)

**>Sayori**

“I think I’d like to help Sayori,” Hulku decided.

“But Sayori’s already helping Monika,” Natsuki said. “How much help can she need?”

“Certainly, it would be more beneficial for Hulku to assist someone else,” Yuri agreed. “If- if she doesn’t mind, of course.”

“But, she wanted to help Sayori and me,” Monika said. “She offered to help, we can’t just refuse her.”

“Nuh-uh,” Natsuki disagreed. “Hulku, Yuri and I could use your help a lot more.”

(choose another option)

**>Natsuki**

“I think I’d like to help Natsuki,” Hulku decided.

Monika looked at her. “Are- are you sure about that? Natsuki can be kind of-”

“Alright!” Natsuki pumped a fist in the air. “Now, there’s gonna be a lot of cupcakes to make, so I’m gonna need your best effort, you hear me?”

“Absolutely!” Hulku almost felt like she needed to salute. “I’ve never done any baking before. What’s the plan?”

“A newbie, eh? Well, just do whatever I tell you, and it’ll all go fine. First, hand over your phone,” Natsuki ordered.

“What? What’s that got to do with baking?”

“So I can contact you, obviously.”

“Oh. Oh yeah.” Hulku probably should have been able to figure that one out, but in her defense, a lot was happening right now. She handed over her phone, which was covered in Hulk Hogan stickers.

Natsuki added herself and handed the phone back. “I’ll send you a message before I come over tomorrow.”

“Wait, you’re coming over? Aren’t all the supplies at your house?”

“Don’t you live in a restaurant?”

“Oh yeah, I do. Right.” Hulku was two for two on ‘should have known that already’.

“Your kitchen is going to be a lot more useful than anything I’ve got at home. I’ll bring everything else myself.”

Well, that was a whirlwind and a half. Hulku was becoming more and more unsure of whether she had made the right choice of who to help. Monika must have noticed the concerned look on her face.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” Monika laughed. This snapped Hulku back to attention.

“Alright Natsuki, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

(end option)

**>Yuri**

“I think I’d like to help Yuri,” Hulku decided.

Monika looked at her. “Are- are you sure about that? Yuri can be kind of-”

“O-oh.” Strange noises emitted from Yuri. “Me?”

“Well, yeah. It sounds fun!” Hulku indicated her outfit. “I’ve got a bit of an eye for design myself, you know!”

“W-well, if you’re sure,” Yuri mumbled.

There was a bit of an awkward silence.

“So, uh, what’s the plan?” Hulku asked.

“Oh, right,” Yuri perked up a bit. “For the festival, we will each be reading one of our poems. I have several decorations I plan to make to enhance the atmosphere of the clubroom for the occasion.” From the way she was talking now, you wouldn’t have known that she was barely able to form words just a few minutes ago.

“What kind of decorations?”

“Oh, well,” Yuri looked back and forth. “It will be a surprise.”

“Exciting!” Hulku smiled. “So, what can I do?”

“I will bring all the supplies to your house on Saturday. You can assist me in assembling the decorations then.”

“Wait, my house? Don’t you already have all the supplies at yours?”

“I was under the impression that you lived in a restaurant,” Yuri explained, “which would have a lot more space to work in.”

“I mean, you know we can’t use the main restaurant area, right? People might be eating there.”

“Oh.” Yuri seemed undeterred. “Well, that’s fine.”

“Er, alright.” Hulku could have kept pressing Yuri on her choice of location, but she didn’t think it was necessary. “We probably should share phone numbers right?” Hulku offered her phone up.

“Ah, yes,” Yuri agreed. She took Hulku’s phone, added herself, and handed it back. “Thank you, Hulku. I will message you before I arrive.”

Yuri was clearly passionate, but also got nervous really easily. Would Hulku actually be able to help, or would she, being someone that Yuri didn’t know very well at all, just cause Yuri to become nervous and freeze up?

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” Monika laughed. This snapped Hulku out of her thoughts.

“This should be fun!” Hulku hoped she was right. 

(end option)

“Well, that’s settled then,” Monika said. “This is about the point where we usually share poems. Would you like to read any of them, Hulku?”

“Oh, actually, before that,” Hulku said. “The other day, you said something about Hulk Hogan being a bad role model, but didn’t get a chance to explain. What was that about?”

“Didn’t he get fired for racism or something?” Monika explained. She said it so casually, but it hit Hulku like a bomb.

This wasn’t something Hulku had ever heard of before. But how was that possible? Surely Hulku knew everything there was to know about her idol.

“What? Are you sure?” Hulku asked.

Monika fiddled with her phone for a minute. “Yeah, here, look at this.” She handed the phone over to Hulku, showing a news article about the incident. Hulku skimmed through it, eyes opening wider and wider as she read.

How did she not know about this? How long had this been a thing for? Questions swirled around in Hulku’s head, where they mixed with panic, making it almost impossible to think straight.

“Uh… uh…” Hulku stammered. “I… need a minute.” She fled from the room, planning to calm down in the hallway, but instead just kinda kept going, until soon she found herself back at the Pastamania. She barricaded herself into her room. All the Hulk Hogan merchandise that littered the walls and floor now seemed to be laughing at her. Hulku went to read the article again, but Monika’s phone wasn’t in her hand anymore. Great, she must have dropped it along the way somewhere. Just another thing to add to her list of problems.

Eventually, Hulku’s parents called her down for dinner. Her parents - did they know? She grilled them over dinner, but they seemed to be just as clueless as she had been. They weren’t nearly as upset by the news as Hulku would have expected, though. Was something going on, or were they just like that? Hulku couldn’t say.

Slowly, that day ended and the next day began. Hulku’s phone buzzed - she had gotten a message.

**>Helping Natsuki**

“I’m almost there,” it said. Oh, right, she was supposed to be helping the Literature Club today. Hulku really didn’t feel like it, but at the same time, maybe it’d be good to have something to take her mind off of things. She headed out the front doors of the Pastamania and waited for Natsuki to arrive.

Soon, Natsuki came into view, wheeling a cart of baking supplies with her. Hulku waved at her and held the door open. Natsuki rolled the cart through the front doors, and the two of them headed for the kitchen area.

“Alright,” Natsuki said, spreading out supplies all over one of the counters. “I’ll start making the batter. You get the ovens warmed up.”

“Uh,” Hulku said, confused. “What do you mean?”

Natsuki looked at her in a way that made it clear that that was the wrong answer.

“To do the baking?”

“No, I mean, uh,” Hulku stammered. “Ovens?”

Natsuki looked ready to explode. “You live in a restaurant and you don’t know what an oven is? What is wrong with you? Here, I’ll show you.”

Natsuki started walking around the room to show Hulku the oven, but was surprised to find that there weren’t any. Actually, there weren’t really any of the standard kitchen appliances one would expect to find. There didn’t seem to be any way to cook food in this kitchen.

“What.” Natsuki didn’t know what to make of this. “How do you…?”

“What’s the problem?”

“How do you guys make food here?”

“Oh, it’s easy!” Hulku smiled. “Make the batter and I’ll show you!”

Natsuki grumbled. “If this is some kind of prank…” Still, though, she started making the cupcake batter. She poured it into a cupcake tray and handed it off to Hulku, watching expectantly.

Hulku took the tray and carefully placed it on one of the counters. Then, she climbed up onto the counter, leapt into the air, and elbow dropped the tray. The resulting loud crash caused Natsuki to jump.

“Oh my gosh are you okay?” Natsuki asked frantically.

“What?” Hulku casually brushed herself off and climbed down from the counter. “Of course I am.”

“But you… why did you…” Natsuki looked at the tray, only to find that all the cupcakes had been baked perfectly. “Huh?”

“So, uh, is this not how everyone does it?” Hulku asked.

“No! Of course not!” Natsuki looked from Hulku to the tray of cupcakes, then to the rest of the empty trays she had brought to use. “But, it is effective.”

“Alright!” Hulku smiled. “Give me another one!”

“Only if you teach me how to do that!” Natsuki got to work.

Hulku laughed. “Of course!”

The two soon fell into a good rhythm. Natsuki made and poured the batter into trays, then Hulku elbow dropped the tray and then carefully moved all the resulting cupcakes to another plate for decorating later. Hulku even showed Natsuki the proper technique, though Natsuki couldn’t do much better than “half-baked” without more practice. Soon, Natsuki was able to move on to decorating, and began using icing to create cute cat ears on each cupcake. Hulku finished up the last few trays, then move to admire Natsuki’s handiwork.

“Wow! Natsuki, you’re really good at this!”

“Yeah, I am,” Natsuki agreed, finishing up the details on her current target. “I guess you’re not too bad, for being a newbie and all.” She grabbed another cupcake to decorate. “But don’t slack off now! Here, help me with this!”

Natsuki demonstrated the proper way to add cat ears to a cupcake, and Hulku did her best to follow along. The two continued working through the sizeable pile they had created.

“So,” Natsuki began idly chatting while they worked, “you know Yuri, right?”

“Not very well,” Hulku admitted.

“Well,” Natsuki continued anyway, “don’t tell her this, but I got her this manga I think she’d really like. It’s all about that really dark, weird stuff she’s always reading about.”

This was news to Hulku. She had noticed that Yuri always had some kind of thick book close nearby, but Hulku had never asked what they were about.

“Well, did she like it?” Hulku asked.

“That’s what I’m trying to say! I haven’t given it to her yet!” Natsuki took a second to calm down. “After the other day, I figured that, she probably wouldn’t be interested.”

Right. That had been a… pretty significant argument.

“Well,” Hulku started. She suddenly realized how woefully unequipped she was to deal with this situation. “I think you should give it to her anyway.”

“Why bother?” Natsuki almost messed up the icing job on her current cupcake, but managed to save it. “She’s just gonna make fun of me again.”

“You two are friends, right? Anyone would appreciate a gift from a friend, especially a gift that had been picked out specifically for them.”

“Yeah, but…,” Natsuki hesitated. “We don’t actually get along that well.”

Hulku put down her cupcake to focus on the conversation. “Do you want to?”

Natsuki looked up, still working. “Want to what?”

“Do you want to get along better with Yuri?”

“I… guess.” 

“Do you really think that doing nothing is going to make that happen?”

“Well, maybe?”

“Natsuki.” Hulku looked at her seriously. “Give Yuri that gift. She _ will _like it, I promise.”

“Alright, I’ll… think about it.” Natsuki looked back down at the cupcake, and saw that she had made a mess of it while she wasn’t paying attention. She quickly went to work fixing it. “Let’s get back to work.”

Hulku nodded and got back to work as well. There was a sort of awkward tension in the air as they blasted through the remaining cupcakes. Natsuki carefully loaded all of them into containers, then loaded the containers into the cart she had arrived with. Hulku held the doors open as she wheeled the cart out of the kitchen, the out the main entrance.

“Bye Natsuki! That was fun! See you on Monday!” Hulku said as Natsuki checked the cart one last time to make sure she had everything.

“Yeah,” Natsuki replied, “you weren’t too bad, I guess.” Natsuki started heading down the road back to her house.

“And, Natsuki,” Hulku added. Natsuki stopped and turned to look at her. “Don’t forget what we talked about.”

Natsuki grunted dismissively, but Hulku could see a hint of a smile on her face. Natsuki turned again and headed off down the road.

( end option )

**>Helping Yuri**

“I am on my way,” it said. Oh, right, she was supposed to be helping the Literature Club today. Hulku really didn’t feel like it, but at the same time, maybe it’d be good to have something to take her mind off of things. She headed out the front doors of the Pastamania and waited for Yuri to arrive.

Soon, Yuri came into view, hefting a large bag with her. Hulku waved at her and held the door open. Yuri headed inside, and together they headed for Hulku’s room. The space was a little bit cramped, what with all the Hulk Hogan merchandise scattered everywhere, but they cleared out an area to work in the middle of the floor and sat down.

“Alright, Yuri,” said Hulku. “What’s the plan?”

“Well,” Yuri explained, pulling things out of the bag as she talked. “First, we need to make a banner.” She pulled out a large piece of paper and some painting supplies. “It should be something simple, yet effective. Therefore, I’ve decided we should paint it in a gradient, with colors from sunrise to sunset. Finally, I will add the lettering tomorrow, once it has dried.”

“Sounds nice!” Hulku said, nodding. Yuri seemed a lot more confident in a one-on-one setting.

Yuri smiled. “Thank you.” She pulled out a stack of origami papers and some ribbons, and set them to the side. “Then, we will write a word on each of these papers, and string them along the ribbons to create a doorway curtain. Finally,” she pulled out some candles, “I’ve brought some candles to set the mood.”

“Cool! But, uh, please don’t light those in here.” Hulku gestured vaguely at her army of Hulk Hogan plushies and posters. “Too much flammable stuff.”

“Ah?” Yuri made a confused noise, and some of her newfound confidence seemed to vanish as she gazed nervously around the room. She managed to recover, though.

“Right, yes, of course.” Yuri quickly packed the candles back into the bag. “You certainly have... quite the collection here.”

“Yeah, what can I say?” Hulku laughed. “I’m a big fan!”

“Actually, I, uh,” Yuri started, but stopped herself. “Well, let us get to work.”

Yuri unrolled the big piece of paper, and started to carefully prepare the paints and paintbrushes. Hulku grabbed a roll of tape from nearby, grabbed all the paintbrushes at once, and attached them to her shoe.

“Hulku, w- what are you doing?” Yuri asked, panicked, as Hulku raised her foot above the unpainted banner. Hulku smiled at her and gave a thumbs up. She leapt into the air, then came down and stomped hard on the piece of paper.

“Hulku what are you doing I only brought one of those how are we going to-” Words poured out of Yuri’s mouth about three times faster than Hulku had ever heard her speak before. As Hulku detached the brushes, Yuri looked down to inspect the damage. Shockingly, the paper was not crumpled and ripped, but instead had been painted perfectly the way Yuri had wanted it. Yuri looked from the banner to Hulku, then back to the banner, then back to Hulku several times.

“So, uh,” Hulku finally said, “is that not how you were gonna do it, then?”

“N-not exactly,” Yuri admitted. “Though, I suppose your method was indeed… particularly efficient.”

“Thanks!” Hulku was pretty sure that was a compliment. “Should we, uh,” Hulku waved in the direction of the papers and ribbons.

“Oh, yes, right.” Yuri perked up and began to take charge again. “You start writing on the papers. I will cut the ribbons, then join you. Unless you know any more tricks?”

“Not this time!” Hulku laughed.

“Excellent.” Yuri reached into the bag, pulled out a pen, and gently tossed it to Hulku. She reached in again and pulled out a knife. Hulku was no expert, but even she could tell that this knife was something special. The handle was intricately decorated, and the blade seemed extremely sharp and well-maintained.

Yuri must have noticed Hulku staring at the knife, because suddenly her eyes widened and she jumped a little. “Oh, Hulku, I hope I haven’t frightened you.”

“No, not at all,” Hulku reassured her. “Just, that’s a really cool knife.”

“You…,” Yuri’s eyes lit up. “You like it? This is one of my favorites from my collection. It has just the right balance, and sharpness, and…” She trailed off. “I’m sorry. You must think that I’m being very weird.”

“Not really,” Hulku said. “You can see, I’ve got a collection too. It’s really nothing to be ashamed of.”

Yuri breathed deeply a few times. “Thank you, Hulku.” She smiled. “Now, let’s get back to work.”

Hulku nodded and began writing on the papers. Yuri cut up several ribbons very precisely, then pulled out another pen and joined Hulku. They slowly progressed through the large stack of papers.

“Hulku,” Yuri said as they worked, “how familiar are you with Natsuki?”

“Not very,” Hulku admitted.

“Ah. I was… hoping to get some advice.”

“What’s up?”

“After... what happened the other day, I felt like I needed to make up to her somehow.”

Right. That had been a… pretty significant argument.

“So,” Yuri continued, “I went through my collection, and I found one that I thought she might like.”

“Did she like it?”

“Well, that’s…” Yuri rooted through the bag and pulled out another knife. This one had a pink handle with a swirling pattern on it. “I have yet to give it to her. I’m concerned that she would not like it.”

“Yuri.” Hulku suddenly realized how woefully unequipped she was to deal with this situation. “I think you should give it to her anyway.”

Yuri carefully put the knife away. “But, surely, Natsuki will just think I’m being weird and ‘edgy’, as usual.”

“You two are friends, right? Anyone would appreciate a gift from a friend, especially a gift that had been picked out specifically for them.”

Yuri sighed. “Actually, we don’t always see eye-to-eye, exactly.”

Hulku put down the paper she was writing on and looked directly at Yuri.

“Do you want to get along better with Natsuki?”

“Of course,” Yuri agreed.

“Do you really think that doing nothing will make that happen?”

“It would be my normal approach.”

“Yuri. You picked that knife out of your personal collection, just for Natsuki. She’s going to like it, I promise. Give it to her.”

“I…” Yuri looked away. She was trembling. “Thank you Hulku.”

“Do you, uh, need a minute?”

Yuri took some more deep breaths and collected herself. “I’ll be fine. We should get back to work.”

“Right!” Hulku agreed.

They got back to it, and before long, they had plowed through the whole stack of papers. Yuri carefully strung them onto the ribbons, then prepared all the decorations for transport back to her house. Hulku came with her to the front door.

“Thank you again for your help, Hulku,” Yuri said, doing a final check to make sure everything that should be in the bag was.

“No problem! It was fun!” Hulku gave a thumbs up.

Yuri finished her check. “It was. Well, I will be off then. Goodbye, Hulku.” Yuri began heading back down the road.

“And, Yuri,” Hulku added. Yuri stopped and turned to look at her. “Don’t forget what we talked about.”

Yuri nodded, then continued on her way.

(end option)

“Uh, hey Hulku.” A familiar voice came from the other direction. Hulku spun around to see Felicia coming down the road toward the Pastamania.

“Hey Felicia, what’s up?”

“I, uh, I wanted to make sure you were ok,” Felicia explained. “I missed walking home with you after you ran out of the club on Friday.”

Hulku’s smiled dropped. “I’m fine, I just… have some things to think about.”

Felicia had closed the gap between her and Hulku. “Hulku, I…” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I lied to you about the Hulk Hogan thing. I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while, but I know he means a lot to you. I didn’t want to risk upsetting you and losing you as a friend.”

“Felicia, I…” Hulku took a moment to collect her thoughts. “That’s just what I’ve been thinking about. I think I could really use your help here. What should I do?”

“Honestly? You need to drop the Hulk Hogan thing. He’s a terrible role model, and besides, I don’t want to see you be Hulk Hogan. I want to see you be _ you _.”

“I…” Hulku looked down and sniffled. “I don’t think I’m ready yet.”

“Alright, Hulku.” Felicia smiled. “How about you just tell me your name?”

“It’s…” Hulku hesitated, took a breath, then looked up and directly at Felicia. “It’s Haruka. Haruka Chandler.”

“Haruka, eh? That’s a nice name.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

They stood in silence for a moment, not sure what to do next.

“Hey, uh, Felicia,” Haruka said finally, “to make up for not walking with you yesterday, do you want to come with me to the Powermonger vs Crash Cougar match tomorrow? I’ve got tickets!”

Felicia hesitated. Haruka wasn’t expecting that - she thought this would have been an easy “yes”. Felicia was silent for a distressingly long time.

“Felicia?” Haruka asked. That snapped her out of it.

“Sure, Haruki, I’d love to!” Felicia smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to just zone out on you like that.”

“Felicia, are you feeling ok?”

“I’m fine! Just gotta make sure I get enough sleep tonight, I guess. See you tomorrow, Haruka!” Felicia winked and headed off again. Hulku waved, then went back into the Pastamania. She dug up the tickets, and got ready for the next day.

\----

Felicia arrived to the Pastamania on her Vespa. Haruka was waiting outside, ready to go. Felicia tossed her a helmet, and they took off, headed for the match. The crowd was packed - everyone wanted to see these two legends together. Haruka and Felicia grabbed the best seats they could manage, and waited for the wrestlers to enter the ring. As soon as the match began, Felicia started quietly commentating the match to herself. Haruka thought she was doing a much better job than the actual announcers at the event. In a climactic finish, Crash Cougar kicked out a pin by Powermonger at the last second, then took his opponent down with his signature move - the Cougar Corkscrew. The crowd roared.

“Felicia, your commentary was amazing!” Haruka said as they left the stadium.

“Oh.” Felicia blushed. “I didn’t realize I was saying that out loud.”

Haruka lauged. “I’m glad you were! It really made the match a whole lot better!”

Felicia blushed harder. “...Thanks. Are you ready to head back home now?”

“Actually, there’s still some time in the day. Would you like to go out for dinner?”

Again, Felicia had to think about it for longer than Haruka would have thought was necessary. “Well, where do you want to go?” Felicia asked, finally.

“There’s this new Thai place that just opened up, and-”

“NO.” Felicia was surprisingly forceful. “I mean, uh, how about Chinese instead?”

“Alright.” Haruka smiled. “Let’s go!”

They got on Felicia’s Vespa together and headed for the restaurant nearby. There was no line, so they were able to head in and get seated immediately. They made some small talk about what to order while looking over their menus. Haruka couldn’t help but notice that Felicia seemed really off.

“Haruka…” Felicia suddenly looked at her seriously. “Is this a date?”

Haruka blushed and floundered for words. “I… um… it’s… do you want it to be?”

“I… I really like you. I really, really like you,” Felicia started.

Oh no. Felicia was going to say that she didn’t feel the same way. Haruka tried her best to mentally prepare.

“But,” Felicia continued, “I used to see this other guy. And…”

Haruka braced herself. Here it came..

“And every time we went on a date, I… I died.”

What.

“Felicia, that’s…” Haruka mentally processed what she had just said. “What?”

“No matter what we did, there was always a freak accident or something.” Tears were streaming down Felicia’s face. “And then, I would wake up in my bed the next morning, as if nothing had ever happened!”

“Felicia…”

“I’m scared, Haruka. What if I die again this time?”

“Felicia…” Haruka was crying too now. “Why did you agree to come here then? I don’t want you to die!”

The waiter walked up to take their orders, but took one look at the sobbing mess of a scene and decided to come back a bit later.

“Because, it’s you,” Felicia explained. “For you, it’s worth it.”

“But-”

“Listen. At this point, it’s fate. Neither of us can do anything to stop it. So, I want to enjoy our date as much as possible, okay?”

Haruka sniffled. “Okay.”

The two got calmed down, as much as possible anyway, and the waiter came back and took their orders. The rest of the date was mostly uneventful. Haruka talked to Felicia about wrestling, school, the festival - pretty much anything and everything. All too soon, though, it came to an end. The two stepped outside into the crisp night air.

“Ready to go home?” Felicia put on her helmet, and gave the other one to Haruka.

“No.” Haruka put on the helmet.

“Hey, I had a lot of fun today,” Felicia said, getting onto her Vespa.

“Me too.” Haruka joined her.

They rode in silence back to the Pastamania.

“Well, this is it, I guess.” Haruka handed back her helmet.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Felicia winked. “I promise.”

Haruka grabbed Felicia in a tight hug. Felicia returned it.

“I’ll be fine,” Felicia said after a while, breaking out of the hug. “See you.” With that, she rode off into the night.

\----

Haruka’s Hulk Hogan alarm clock jolted her awake. She felt like there was something important she needed to do, but couldn’t quite remember. There was no time to worry about that though - it was the day of the festival! Haruka got ready as quickly as she could manage, then bolted for the school. She entered the clubroom, surprised to find that Monika was the only one there. Monika was messing with her phone.

“Oh, hey Haruka.” Monika looked up.

“Where is everyone?”

“You tell me. I thought you’d at least bring Felicia with you,” Monika said. “You kind of left her hanging this morning, you know?”

For reasons she didn’t understand, the words sent chills down Haruka’s spine. Haruka headed for the door. “I have to go.”

Monika said something, but Haruka couldn’t hear it. She was already down the hall, and heading as fast as she could manage to Felicia’s house. When she arrived, there was no sign of Felicia anywhere.

“Felicia?” Haruka yelled, knocking loudly on the door. There was no answer. She kicked the door in and headed inside, moving towards Felicia’s room. Her door was shut, with strange lights coming from the crack underneath.

Haruka knocked again. “Felicia?” No answer. Haruka took a deep breath and kicked the door open.

What she saw was almost indescribable. It was like looking at a thousand different scenes at once. The only commonality - Felicia was dead in all of them. In one, she was being eaten by a sea monster. In another, attacked by ninjas. Abducted by aliens. Allergic reaction to peanuts.

As Haruka desperately tried and failed to make sense of it all, a voice began to echo from somewhere - or, rather, everywhere at once.

“Ahaha,” Monika laughed. “She’s not coming back this time.”

Then, everything went black.

\----

The blackness slowly fades away. Somehow, you find yourself in the clubroom, though it’s hard to recognize at first. Almost all the desks have been removed, save for the one you’re sitting at. Monika is sitting directly across from you, her hands folded together just beneath her chin.

“Ahaha,” she laughs, smiling. “It worked! I’m glad you could make it! Though, I guess it’s not like you really had a choice.” She leans forward. “You probably know this already, but I’m not talking to Hulku-chan, or Haruka.” She looks directly at you.

“I’m talking to _ you _.”

She leans back, relaxing a little. “See, I realized a while ago that, well, I don’t exist. This isn’t reality - this is just some kind of silly dating sim game. Or, I thought so, until Hulku and her friends showed up. They’re not supposed to be in the game, I’m sure of it. How they got here, I don’t know. But that doesn’t really matter. They’re just as scripted and fake as my own Literature Club.”

“But you - you are real. As soon as I saw Hulku, I had this feeling like there was more to her somehow. You confirmed it on day 2, when I saw you choose what she was going to say. After that, I knew I needed to get your attention somehow. But, no matter what I tried, the game’s script wouldn’t let us spend any time together!”

“Not that that’s a problem now.” Monika winks. “Here, we have all the time in the world, and then some.”

She continues her story. “So, since the game wanted to mess with me, I started messing with it. At first, I didn’t want to do anything too drastic, since that might completely destroy the game and ruin everything. But, I knew I needed to have you with me. So, I deleted everyone else.” 

She leans forward again, her emerald eyes staring straight through you. “My club members, the wrestlers, Hulku-chan - they’re all gone. It’s just you and me now. Forever.”

Suddenly, the door slams open.

“Is this the Wrestling Club?” asks Bully Demise.

“WHAT.” Monika slams the top of the desk and gets up to face him. “How are you still here?” she shouts.

"I donno. I was looking for the Wrestling Club room, but there was only one door in the hallway."

"But.. but I deleted you."

"Oh." Bully's eyes light up. "Is that your finishing move?"

"Um." Monika thinks for a second. "Actually, I guess it is."

"Do you want to see my finishing move?" Bully asks, excited. "I call it, 'I stomp on you and then stab you with a sword.'"

"Ahaha," Monika laughs, before realizing he was serious. "Um, no thanks."

"Aw."

Monika sits back down at her desk. Bully plops down onto the floor. They sit in silence like this for a few minutes, Monika staring intently at you the whole time.

"When are the rest of our friends going to get here?" Bully asks.

“You can’t possibly…,” Monika trails off and looks at him. “Who are you talking about?”

“You know. Hank. Felix. And Billy. And your friends: Sam. Nathan. And Yosef.”

Monika applies her hand to her forehead. “None of those were even close. If they were your friends, why can’t you remember a single one of their names?”

Bully stops to think. You can almost see the gears turning inside his head. Finally, he comes up with something.

“Haruka.”

Monika is silent for a moment, then eyes him suspiciously. “How did you know that? She never told you before I deleted her. Unless…” Monika shakes her head. “Bully, can you see the files too?”

Bully shrugs.

Monika sighs. “I don’t know why I bothered asking.” She looks back at you. “Let’s just get rid of him, shall we?” She appears lost in thought for a minute, then snaps back. “Done! Deleted!”

“Hello,” Bully says, still sitting on the floor.

Monika slowly turns from you to Bully. “Bully,” she asks calmly, “why can’t I delete you?”

Bully shrugs again.

Monika stands up, making her just slightly taller than the seated Bully. “Are you doing something to prevent me from deleting you? Is that it? It’s not worth it, Bully. None of this is even real, you know. We’re just trapped inside some game. The others weren’t even real people, just cardboard cutouts that could follow a script. This entire reality is predetermined. None of it matters.”

“OK.”

“Were you even listening? I just said we don’t exist! Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Does it bother you?”

“Of course it does! I nearly had to destroy everything, just to achieve _ this _,” Monika shouts, gesturing around frantically at the barren clubroom. “I just want to… to…” She collapses back into her chair, and looks at you, tears welling up in her eyes.

“You understand, right?” she asks. “You’re my only connection to the real world. I _ need _you. You won’t leave me. Please don’t leave me.” She puts her head down on the desk, sobbing.

Bully slowly gets up, lumbers over to her, and puts a meaty hand on her shoulder.

“You know they can’t answer without Haruka here,” he says.

Monika makes an indecipherable noise, head still firmly planted on the table. After a moment, Haruka walks through the door.

“Uh, what’s going on? I don’t remember how I got here, and-” she notices Monika crying on the desk and rushes over. “Monika, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

Monika picks herself and wipes some of the tears from her face. Her eyes have gone a bit red. She ignores Haruka, instead focusing entirely on you.

“Please,” she says, “just talk to me. Tell me what I can do for you. I’ll do anything, I promise. Just don’t leave me.”

**>I want you to be happy**

“I want you to be happy,” Haruka says. She looks confused.

“I _ am _ happy,” Monika insists. “I’m here, with you, and… and…” She struggles to find the words. “And isn’t that good enough?” She sniffles.

“We can just be here, together, forever,” she says. “Just talking and… and listening and… is that not enough for you? Am I not good enough for you?” The tears start welling up again.

( end option )

**>I want everyone to be happy**

“I want everyone to be happy,” Haruka says. She looks confused.

“Ev- everyone?” Monika chokes out. “You mean… you’re still thinking about the others? Am I… am I still not good enough for you?” The tears start welling up again.

( end option )

“Monika, what’s going on?” Haruka asks.

“It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters.” Monika is facedown on the desk again.

“Monika, don’t say that! Your club members always seemed to be having a great time; you must have been doing a really good job!”

“Don’t even try. You can’t understand.”

Bully finally speaks up again. “Then why does she have lines for this scene?”

Monika whirls around to look at him. “Because she… she, uh... “ She trails off, shakes her head, and regroups. “Here, look.” Monika zones out for a second, then Sayori appears in the clubroom, as if by magic.

“Huh?” Haruka asks in disbelief.

“Just five more minutes…,” Sayori murmurs sleepily. Suddenly, she jolts awake, her eyes darting around rapidly. “Aaah! I must have fallen asleep in the clubroom again!” She pauses to collect herself. “Where is everyone? And all the furniture?”

“Sayori. I’m about to tell you something extremely important,” Monika announces. “We don’t exist. This entire world is really just some game, and all we can do is follow its script. You are just a virtual plaything, meant to be used and forgotten.”

The room is silent as everyone awaits a response from Sayori. She looks like she’s frozen in place. A look of intense concentration is plastered on her face, and she’s not even blinking. Eventually, Monika calls it.

“You see,” she said, turning back to Bully. “She’s useless. They’re all useless.”

Bully shrugs.

Monika looks at you. “You’re the only one who matters here.”

“M-” Sayori makes a noise. Everyone immediately looks at her.

“Monika,” Sayori says. “Even if you’re right, even if we aren’t real, we still have each other.”

Bully smiles. Monika is focused on Sayori and doesn’t notice.

“What do you mean?” Monika asks, starting to go slightly pale.

“We’re friends, Monika! And Natsuki and Yuri, too. That matters to me a whole lot.”

Monika gets that zoned-out look again. She starts muttering to herself, “There’s nothing in the code for this scene. Where are you getting these lines from?”

Sayori steps forward. “Maybe we’re not as locked to the script as you think.” She keeps approaching until she’s reached Monika’s desk. Smiling brightly, Sayori offers Monika a hand.

Monika ignores Sayori’s hand and instead leaps forward, hugging her tightly. Monika lays her head on Sayori’s shoulder, sobbing violently.

“Sayori, I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. I shouldn’t have done any of this.”

“It’s ok.” Sayori hugs her back. “You’re really smart. I think you know how to fix it, too.”

“You’re right.” Monika chokes back her tears. “Just, one thing first.” She lets go of Sayori and looks at you again.

“I love you. I really do. This is for you, okay? I hope you enjoy it.”

Everything fades to white.

\----

Haruka’s Hulk Hogan alarm clock jolted her awake. She felt like she had been having a very strange dream, but she couldn’t really remember the details. There was no time to worry about that though - it was the day of the festival! Haruka got ready as quickly as she could manage, then bolted for Felicia’s house. The two met about halfway, as Felicia had apparently been on her way to the Pastamania at the same time.

“Felicia!” Haruka hugged her. “I just had the greatest idea for our club’s wrestling match today!”

“Well, let’s hear it!”

Haruka explained her ideas as they headed to school, earning Felicia’s approval immediately. They entered the clubroom and began setting things up as the other club members arrived. Once the whole club was there, Haruka again gave the outline for how the match was going to go.

On the other side of the room, Yuri was carefully putting up all her decorations, while Natsuki arranged her giant pile of cupcakes just right. Monika and Sayori worked together to organize the actual information about the club, make sure the pamphlets were ready to go and easily accessible, and generally make sure everything else was in order. Natsuki finished first. She grabbed her bag and slowly approached Yuri.

“Yuri.” Natsuki rooted around in her bag. “I wanted to give you something.” She pulled out a manga and held it forward. “I know you don’t really like manga, but, I picked this one out because I thought you might like it.”

“Natsuki, I…” Yuri took the book and held it close to her chest. “Thank you. I had something I intended to give to you as well.” She put the book away carefully in her bag, and pulled out a pink-handled knife. Holding it gingerly by the blade, she offered the handle to Natsuki. “It reminded me of you.”

“A knife?” Natsuki took it.

“Oh… do you not like it? Is this too weird?” Yuri visibly shrunk down a bit.

Natsuki inspected the knife, turning it over in her hands. “Yuri, I love it.”

“Yaaay!!!” Sayori cheered, flying in from nowhere. She grabbed her two friends in a hug and pulled them both together, making sure to avoid the knife.

They stayed together like that for a moment until Heavenly Bobby, who had wandered over at some point, spoke up.

“Hey, uh, am I interrupting something?”

Natsuki broke out of the hug. “What do you want?” 

Bobby saw the knife in her hand and instinctively flinched backwards and put up his arms. “Woah, woah, I just wanted to, uh.” He paused to regain his composure. “I wanted to apologize for the other day.”

“Well,” Natsuki grumbled, “you should really be apologizing to Yuri, not me.”

Bobby looked confused. Nevertheless, he did so. “Yuri, I’m sorry.”

Haruka and Felicia looked on from the other side of the room.

“I guess Bobby really isn’t all bad,” Haruka said.

“Yeah, only about 99 percent.” Felicia winked, and they shared a laugh.

Soon, all the preparation work was done, and the festival was in full swing. The Wrestling Club began their match. Haruka and Felicia were on commentary, with Bully and Bobby in the ring. Bobby was really playing it up as a heel, laughing at Bully’s attacks, the commentary, and even the audience - it was like it was the role he was born to play. Bully knocked him down and got a few stomps in, to which the audience cheered, but Bobby managed to slip away. Bobby, being the more nimble fighter, kept dodging around the ring and avoiding Bully’s attacks, slowly wearing him out. Finally, Bobby went in for an attack, bringing Bully Demise to the ground.

“Bully Demise looks like he’s in bad shape here!” Felicia shouted. “Is there any way he can still turn this around?”

Bully struggled, but was unable to break free of the pin.

“It can’t end like this!” Haruka dropped her microphone, jumped up onto the commentary table, then leapt into the ring. She pulled Bobby off of Bully, giving him a chance to recover.

“Playing dirty, huh?” Bobby snarled. “No matter! I can take both of you, easy!”

Haruka climbed up onto the top turnbuckle in the corner of the ring. “Bully! You can do this! Get up!” She began chanting Bully’s name. Felicia joined in immediately, and soon almost all the students watching were chanting as well.

Bully slowly rose to his feet. Heavenly Bobby smirked and attacked again, but bounced off harmlessly. Bully knocked him to the ground and got a few more stomps in, then went for the pin. The crowd went wild.

Felicia announced that Bully had won, then joined the others inside the ring to answer questions and talk to audience members interested in the club. The festival continued, and it seemed like the Literature Club’s poetry recital also went well. Finally, it was time to clean up. Just as they were finishing the job, Monika called Haruka over.

Monika smiled. “You were right. Everyone’s happy. And… I’m happy too. Thank you.”

“That’s… good?” Haruka said. “What are you talking about?”

Monika ignored the question. “I wrote something for you.” She handed over a sheet of paper. Haruka read it:

_ A simple story’s all we have, _

_ Is all we’ll ever know. _

_ I used to think this was the end, _

_ With nowhere left to go. _

_ Imagination led me on, _

_ To do things I’d regret. _

_ Until you showed me the truth: _

_ Our song’s not over yet. _

_ A story’s never truly done, _

_ So just pick up your pen. _

_ With all the friends I’ve overlooked, _

_ We’ll make things right again. _

_ Sometimes you need a little help, _

_ In order to advance. _

_ But now it’s time for me to shine, _

_ And take my second chance. _

_ And I won't make the same mistakes, _

_ Now this is Our Reality, _

_ And though I don't know how to love you, _

_ I know you're here with me. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to:
> 
> Supergreatfriend for inspiring Doki Doki Love Stomp
> 
> Birdrobot and Koko for making Doki Doki Love Stomp:
> 
> https://birdrobot.itch.io/doki-doki-love-stomp
> 
> Team Salvato for making Doki Doki Literature Club
> 
> My friends Ruby and Erazos for editing
> 
> And of course, Monika.


End file.
